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Friday, April 5, 2013

Mount Michael Student to Represent Nebraska in National Writing Contest

Sophomore Young Joon Park was selected as the 2013 winner for the
State of Nebraska in the Letters About Literature national writing
contest. The contest asks students to write a personal letter to an
author of a book they have read, reflecting on the impact of that book
on their own life or way of thinking. Young Joon's letter to Arthur
Miller about the play "Death of a Salesman" was selected from hundreds
of letters across the State of Nebraska as the winner for the high
school level of the contest. In recognition of this honor, Young Joon
has been invited to attend the Governor's Proclamation Signing in
Lincoln, and his name will be included in the official National Library
Week Proclamation for Nebraska. Young Joon's letter will now go on to
the national competition, where it will be read by a panel of judges at
the Library of Congress. More information about the contest and a list
of past winners can be found at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.Update: It was recently announced that Young Joon
Park won 3rd place in the "Tribute to the Rescuers Essay Contest"
sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education. Congratulations
Again! http://ihene.org/essay-contest/ - More Photos

The following Mount Michael students also did well in the essay competitions. These students will receive certificates for being finalists
(top 5% of essays) or semi-finalists (top 20% of essays) in this
competition.

Finalist:

Cameron Bretson (essay about Sonderkommandos who were German
resistance fighters in WWII)

Semi-Finalists:

Jake Batenhorst (essay about Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat who
falsified paperwork to help hundreds of Jews escape from Nazi-occupied
territory)

Jacob Bragg (essay about the people of Denmark, who refused
to comply with Nazi regulations about the treatment of Jews in Denmark)

Gus deMayo (essay about St. Maximilion Kolbe, who died in
place of another prisoner at Auschwitz)

John Gutsmiedl (essay about Rudolph Vrba, who escaped from
Auschwitz and supplied the Allies with information about the concentration
camps)

Eric Sullivan (essay about Oskar Schindler)

Stefano Tarantolo (essay about Rick Rescorla, a security
guard who died after helping evacuate others on 9/11)